Golden Ingot

Golden Ingot

        Dumplings are a traditional food in China, which has 1800 years of history. In northern China, dumplings are very popular, and people eat dumplings as their daily food.  The shape of dumpings is similar to Chines golden ingot. Therefore, in ancient China, people ate dumplings because they believed dumplings represent luck. They thought they were going to be lucky in business, families, and love. Most families in the northern provinces make dumplings at home weekly or when celebrating festivals. Homemade dumplings played an important role in my life and Chinese culture, yet I haven’t made homemade dumplings since I immigrated to the U.S. four years ago.

        Homemade dumplings have different flavors, and there are different ways to cook them. Dumplings with different stuffing are all popular. Chinese dumplings are made with various ingredients like pork, beef, chicken, vegetables, and they attract people from all over the world. Some people like beef and celery flavor dumplings. Celery represents hard work in China. People who eat celery dumplings are encouraged to strive. People are also able to enjoy dumplings in different ways. One of the most important aspects of cooking dumplings is boiling which is my preferred method. When people throw dumplings into the boiling water, it is like swimmers plunging into swimming pools. Sometimes my mother wants to cater to my father and me, so when I was in China, she tried to boil a part of dumplings for me and fried some dumplings for my father. I always recall the taste of my mother’s handmade dumplings. However, when I go to the restaurant to eat dumplings in Chicago, most of them are fried because fried dumplings are more popular in people from the U.S. and other countries.

    Dumplings have a special significance, which is reunion during the Chinese Lunar New Year. Dumplings are the most important dish in Lunar New Year. On the Lunar New Year, people who work far from home in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou always go back home. When they come back home, they make dumplings with their families on the last day before the new year. They symbolize reunion and greeting for a new start. In Western Countries, January First is the New Year. That is the day when people will be off and celebrate with families. After I moved to the U.S., I needed to work on the Lunar New Year because of my job schedule. I haven’t find somewhere I can buy the tools of making dumplings which I use in my homeland like rolling pin and flour panel. Therefore, I haven’t had an opportunity to prepare the ingredients and make dumplings by myself since I moved to Chicago.

   Perhaps the most important change for me has been frozen dumplings cannot replace homemade dumplings. It has been four years since I first immigrated to the U.S., and it has been four years since I haven’t make dumplings until now. I always buy frozen dumplings at Chinese supermarkets. Even though the frozen dumplings come in many flavors, I can’t feel the taste like home. Money can solve the problem of an object, but it can’t solve the problem of nostalgia. One of the most popular dumpling restaurants in Chinatown is QingXiangYuan. When I miss my homeland, I go there with my friends. Although the taste can’t substitute the dumplings which I made by myself, I also enjoy the feeling of eating dumplings with my friends.

      Sometimes when I get too hung up on the past in China, I try to convene my family and friends to hold a dumpling party. When we are living in a foreign country, eating the food that you ate at home is the best way to solve the problems of nostalgia. There is a sentence printed on PRET’s napkin which says, “every night we give our fresh food to the hungry rather than selling it the next day. It is the right thing to do.” All in all, food is more than satisfying people’s stomachs and providing nutrition, it symbolizes inheritance, culture, and goodness.